The Youngest Agents
by AFincorporated
Summary: shield needs new agents. Coulson's found four possible agents from all over the world. but it might not end up going the way he's planning, because these teens are NOT ready to be agents yet. Training them will be hard, but will it be worth it? One things sure: its a whole new world for the youngest agents, and things might just get worse before they get better. Please read! :)
1. Recruiting

**Authors note; hi, this is an F story, not an A story. Please review the story after you read it because I love getting reviews. And before anyone says it I know that Ward was a traitor, but in this version he wasn't and Fitz and Simmons are still besties and Fritz isn't brain damaged.**

**This story takes place near the beginning of the first episode of season two.**

**Coulson and May are in Coulson's office. Coulson has just told May that he has to focus on recruiting.**

Coulson reached into his desk and pulled out a file. "What's that?" May asked.

"This is the top-ranked initiates for new shield agents worldwide. We need new blood, so I'm going to send the team to find them." He tossed the file onto the desk, flipping it open. Inside was some photographs of teenagers May didn't recognize, a pile of complicated documents, some hand-written notes, and a even what looked like adoption papers. "They're highly skilled. If we can train them they might become valuable assets, but they're scattered over the world so we'll have to split up."

"Are you sure about this? We aren't really prepared to be training new recruits right now-"

"I'm sure." Coulson said. He glanced at his watch. "But I have a flight to London in twenty minutes, so I'll have to leave this one to you. But remember, these kids think that we're criminals 'because that's what they're saying on the news every night, so I actually suggest saying you're the FBI to get them into the car."

"But shouldn't be trying to-" May asked, but Coulson was already out the office door. She frowned and snapped the file shut. "Alright then."

"I don't want any more objections this came straight from the director." May snapped. She stood in the hangar where they kept the Bus, arguing with the other agents.

"Now here's the the OP. Sky and Hunter are going to Oklahoma to find a Jackson Monroe. Here's his file." She tossed Hunter a couple of files stapled together. "Triplett and Bobby are going to England for a Sage Cole. Ward and I are going to New York to find a Tobias Murie. Fitz, Simmons, you two are headed to Canada for a Julie Hayes. Everything you need to know is in those files. Now get going, we should get this done as soon as possible."

"What, we're going alone?" Fitz asked.

"You'll be fine. You're looking for a high-schooler who's a part-time janitor at the University of Toronto. You'll be fine." May glared at them as if to say _no more arguments._ They didn't argue.

**~~~Fritz &amp; Simmons are sitting in the back of a college lecture hall in Toronto~~~**

"I'm telling you, I don't see her." Simmons whispered to Fritz as a professor talked about chemical engineering at the front of the room.

They both glanced back down at the school photo from the papers May had given them.

"There, sweeping up by the back door." Fritz said. They both stood and snuck around to the other back corner of the lecture hall.

The girl they had been searching for was Julie Hayes, the girl from their files. She was short and thin (the more polite might say she was petite not "runty" though the latter was more correct) and had blond hair in a braid over one shoulder. She had watery blue eyes and washed-out face and clothes like someone had sprayed her with a hose and washed off all the color. She wore a white sweater and pale blue shirt, light jeans, and white flats.

She was sweeping the floor, but listening to the professor at the front at the same time.

At the front of the room, the professor said, "All right, and for this one we'll need the seventy-third element…. anyone tell me what the seventy third element is?"

Nobody raised their hand.

"Tantalum. Seventy-third element in the periodic table. Fifth group. Five is red." Julie Hayes mumbled to herself, not looking up from her sweeping. Fritz and Simmons exchanged a glance.

"She's right."

"I know."

"How old is she, again?"

"Come on."

"Excuse me-" Simmons said. The girl jumped and turned, eyes wide. "Is your name Julie Hayes, by any chance?" She gave the girl a kind smile, which wasn't returned. Julie just looked more nervous, taking a step back.

"I'm- how do you- who are you?" She stuttered.

"You _are_ Julie Hayes?" Fritz asked.

"Y-yes." She said with a nod, her fingers tightening on her broom handle so that her knuckles turned white. "N-Now w-who are you?"

"Don't worry, we're with the FBI. We're here to help you. You may be in danger, you need to come with us." Simmons gave and encouraging nod and Fritz gave a wry smile. Julie Hayes still didn't seem reassured.

The girl gulped. "D-danger? What k-kind of danger?"

"We don't know. But you do need to come with us, we can protect you." Fritz said. Julie glanced back and forth between the two, then finally seemed to come to a decision. She leaned the broom against the wall and pulled off the dark green janitor's apron she was wearing, tossing it to the floor.

She turned back to them. There was now a determined glint in her eyes. "Where do we need to go?"

**~~~May and Ward are in a boxing gym in NYC looking for Tobias Murie~~~**

"I see him, over by the punching bags." May said. "Let's go talk to him."

"Alright." Ward said. They both started walking towards the row of punching bags hanging from the ceiling along one wall. They walked straight towards the boy in front off a scuffed blue bag.

He was tall and lanky, but muscly, with a buzz cut of dark brown hair and caramel colored skin. He had dark almond eyes and a kind face, and he wore a gray workout top and shorts. He scowled at the punching bag as he punched it with his puffy red gloves.

"Tobias Murie?" May asked, pulling off her sunglasses as she approached. He looked up in surprised.

"Yeah? Who the hell are you?"

"We're with the government." Ward said. "You need to come with us."

"Look, whatever it is, I didn't do it, I swear. And I have plans tonight." He pulled off his boxing gloves and swaggered towards a bench. He tossed them down and picked up a towel, which he hung around his neck. "So just leave me alone."

"We weren't asking."

**~~~Triplet and Bobby are in a local police station in England looking for Sage Cole~~~**

"C'mon, man, we have the bail money and we signed the papers, let the kid out." Triplet said. Officer Korinth, with his huge jiggling belly and his red face, scowled at him.

"Fine. She's in the holding cell. But be careful with that kid." He had to struggled to turn on his chair as Bobby and Triplet headed down the hallway that he had motioned to. "We took her in after he robbed three armed cars single-handedly. He isn't anyone to underestimate."

"We won't don't worry…." Bobby waved over her shoulder. "Officer bowl-full-of-jelly." She added under her breath.

"Are we sure about this?" Triplett asked with a frown as they walked. "I mean, this kid is sixteen and they rob _armored cars._ We might just want to steer clear of them. Why does Coulson think he can control these new recruits?"

"I don't know. But we can handle her." Bobby said confidently. "According to those papers May gave us, she's 5" 2', and we're armed. Plus, if Coulson thinks this is the way to go, who are we to argue?" They turned a corner and found themselves facing a holding cell.

Sitting on the bench inside, reading a magazine and lazily propping her feet up on the wall, was an extremely short girl with curly red hair and a black headband. She had a freckled face, big ears, and dark eyes. She wore a dark green tank top, black rain jacket, torn jeans, and muddy black-and-red sneakers. She glanced at them as they approached, but didn't really seem to be surprised.

"Hey." She said, and her voice was strongly british accented. "Who the bloody hell are you?"

"We're with the government. SHIELD, specifically." Bobby said, flipping her badge open. The girl grin.

"What, that American agency that went wonkers? You here to toss me in the lock box?"

"No. We're here to keep you out of jail." Bobby said. "One condition: we get you out of here, you come work for SHIELD."

"Yeah, sure," The girl shrugged. "Things were getting boring here in England. Might as well go with you. Not like some _other_ gov'ment agency turds are gonna offer me better." She tossed the magazine down on the bench and hopped up. "The names Sage Cole, by the way. But I'm betting you knew that one."

"I'm Agent Triplet. This here is Agent Bobby." Triplet said.

"Brilliant." Sage clapped her hands together. "Shall we get the hell out of here, then?"

**~~~Sky and Hunter are in an Oklahoma high school, looking for Jackson Monroe~~~**

"Hey, isn't that him over by the basketball hoop?" Hunter asked.

"Yeah." Sky said. "We should probably hurry. Teachers are giving us looks. We're not technically supposed to be here without visitor passes."

"Relax. Anyone asks, we're his aunt and uncle here to pick him up." Hunter said, and they hurried towards the boy leaning against the chain-link fence.

He was standing alone, wearing a black hoodie and jeans, with a flop of dark hair and pale but sharp features. He was tall and thin, and his black t-shirt had a black design that looked like a rat firing a cannon on it.

"Jackson Monroe? We're with the FBI." Sky said. He raised his eyebrows.

"No, you're not. I can always tell when someone's lying. You are. Now who are you, really? And how do you know my name?"

Sky and Hunter exchanged a look.

"We're with the NSA-"

"You're lying."

"We work for the school board and-"

"Lie."

"You're in danger and we're here too-"

"Liar, liar, pants on fire." Jackson said, sounding annoyed. "Seriously, don't you get it? Stop lying. I can tell."

"Fine. You want the truth? We work for SHIELD. We aren't criminals, and we don't work for Hydra. We think you would be a good agent and we came to recruit you by the orders of Director Coulson."

"You're…. you're telling the truth?" He asked, startled. "You really think _I_ would be a good agent?"

"Look, with the way you just figured we were lying you'd be a bloody good one. But you come now or never." Hunter said impatiently. "You comin' or not?"

He hesitated a moment, but then he said, "I guess I am."

**OK, thats chapter one! I really hope you liked it. I'll get chapter two out as soon as possible. Please please please leave a review or favorite/follow if you liked it.**

**Beam me up, Scotty!**

***F out***


	2. We meet-and-greet

**Hey, hey. Me again. Just here to say that I do not own any of the characters or places you may recognize from Agents of SHIELD. A special thanks to AwesomeGirl (guest); I know that its Fitz not Fritz, but I always spell it wrong. I'll try to spell that right in this chapter! :)**

**~~~Back in the base, the new recruits have just arrived~~~**

"What, this is it?" Sage asked with a snort. "I was expecting something more not _hole._ This reminds me of my place."

"Sorry to disappoint." Bobby rolled her eyes. "It's the best we could do under the circumstances."

"What, you mean the whole world thinking you're criminals? Trust me, being a fugitive is a lot more enjoyable when you get the fun of actually doing the crime first." Sage swaggered ahead of the other two. "And didtncha say there was other noobs? Where're they?"

"They're inside." May had just come up behind them, making them all jump. "Why don't you come meet them…. its Sage Cole, correct?"

"Yup, that was me the last time I checked." Sage crowed. "Now c'mon! I don't have all day!" May grimaced. This new recruit had a lot to learn before she became agent material. They all did, and training them would take a lot of time and a lot of resources. She wished Coulson had given her a chance to object before they were all sent off to find these four teenagers, but he hadn't, and it was too late to turn back now.

"Right this way." They all walked down into the base, Sage running one hand along the wall.

The other new recruits were all sitting around in the front room, as was Sky, Fitzsimmons, and Hunter. May spotted Tobias lounging in a chair to one side, scowling at everything and everyone. He must still be upset about getting tranquilized. Jackson was slumped in another chair, dark eyes scanning everyone in the room suspiciously. Julie was perched on the edge of her seat, looking nervous and with her hands clasped in her lap. Nonetheless, she looked a little excited.

"We're back." Bobby sighed as they entered the room. "Are these the other new recruits?" They nodded. "I'm Bobby. This is Agent Triplet, and your new teammate, Sage."

"Hey, guys. Who the hell are you?"

"Jackson."

"Tobias."

"J-Julie." Julie squeaked nervously. Sage sat down backwards in a chair and began twirling a pen between her fingers, uncharacteristically quiet.

"So are we gonna do something, or what?" She asked.

So much for that one.

May silenced her with a glare. "Recruits, I trust you all know why you're here?" She got a couple of nods and a shake of the head, but she continued anyway. "You are here because you have been singled out as the best candidates from all over the world to become new agents of SHIELD."

"Wait, SHIELD? I th-thought you were the FBI!" Julie leapt to her feet. "You guys are c-criminals!"

"Actually, I'm betting I'm the only criminal here. Now cool your jets, Jules. You'll give yourself a heart attack." Sage interrupted. Julie slowly sat down, but it was noticed by everyone in the room that she kept glancing at the door like she might make a break for it.

"Anyways." May said. "You are here to be trained to become agents. This will not be easy, it will, in fact, be quite hard. And definitely dangerous-"

"Stop sugarcoating it, May. Give it to us straight." Sage mumbled, and May shot her a glare, though a couple of people were trying not to laugh.

"Definitely dangerous, but if you succeed, you will have the chance to make the world a better place, and see some adventure."

"D-Danger?" Julie asked nervously. Then she added in a whisper so quiet that only Sage, sitting next to her, could hear, "Her voice tastes like peppermint." Sage gave her a quizzical look, and Julie blushed.

"What was that about?" Sage whispered to Julie as May kept talking about responsibility and safety and the importance of following orders.

"I'm a s-synesthete." Julie whispered back.

"Um…. what the heck is a synesthete?"

"It m-means my senses are all mixed up. Numbers are colors and sounds are t-tastes or sometimes smells. Your voice t-tastes like sugary cereal."

"Cool." Sage whispered back. Julie gave her a shy smile, even though she felt surprised. Nobody had ever called her being a synesthete "cool" before. Of course, she had never met anyone like Sage before. She closed her eyes and listened to the other sounds in the room. May's voice did taste like peppermint, or maybe mint tea. Simmons muttered something to Fitz, and he whispered something back. Simmons's voice made a chocolatey taste flood Julie's mouth, and Fritz's voice made her smell oranges.

Most people thought that Julie's mixed senses were weird. But she had always thought that it was nice to experience things that way. She could tell a lot about a person by the way their voice tasted. Everyone here seemed nice, but she had met some people with bitter flavors before. At her middle school, she had met a bully named Teresa. Teresa's voice had tasted like motor oil, and Teresa's best friend had had a voice like asparagus, Julie's least favorite food.

The only downside, in Julie's opinion, was that with her tastebuds messed up to connect with sounds, when she was eating food she could only ever taste one flavor. For Julie, everything really _did_ taste like chicken.

"Hey, c'mon Jules." Julie's eyes flew open. Everyone else was standing up and drifting off. "We're going to our rooms, get settled in. We have to share, and Toby and Jace are sharing a room, too."

"Toby? J-Jace?" Julie asked, following her new friend down a hallway, with the two boys following behind. "Are you g-going to give everyone h-here a nickname?"

"You betcha!" Sage chirped cheerfully. "Already have. Sky is cloudgirl, Ward is robotron, Fitz is boywonder, Simmons is doc Watson, Hunter is dumbo the flying elephant, Bobby is Bob, and Triplet is Quadruplet."

"N-no nickname for Agent M-May?" Julie asked teasingly.

"No." Sage grimaced. "She's just scary."

Behind them, Tobias snickered. "Sorry," He said, pressing a hand over his mouth. "But…. Dumbo the Flying Elephant is not a good nickname. For anyone. Ever."

"I think that's the point, _Toby._" Jackson grinned.

Julie smiled, too. She got a good feeling from these people. Jackson's voice reminded her of blackberries in summer, and Tobias's voice was like almonds. Both good tastes.

"Oh shut up, _Jace._" Tobias said. But he was grinning too.

"Hurry up, guys!" Sky called from ahead. "Here are your rooms."

The two rooms were identical, and right next to eachother. Julie noticed, as she entered, that the number on the door of theirs was 8 and the number on the door of the boys room was 7. Seven was green and eight was red.

Julie and Sage's room was nice, if small, with a bunk bed (Sage immediately claimed top, which Julie was fine with; she was afraid of heights), a shared desk, two shelves, and a closet.

Sage thought the new room wasn't much better than the holding cell she had left back home in England. She would have to redecorate.

"Hey, Jules, what would you think about redecorating in here?" Sage asked.

"I-It could use it." Julie nodded. "B-But can we do that tomorrow? I'm e-exhausted."

"Yeah, me too." Sage yawned. "Big day. Got arrested, fought godzilla, and then got dragged across the Atlantic to this fun fest." The two girl's put on their pajamas and climbed into bed. They were almost asleep, when….

"_**ALL AGENTS, REPORT TO THE LANDING BAY IMMEDIATELY! WE HAVE AN 0-8-4! THIS IS NOT A DRILL, NOT A TEST! I REPEAT, ALL AGENTS TO THE LANDING BAY IMMEDIATELY, READY FOR A MISSION!**_" Julie yelped. The voice was sharp and unfamiliar, but she also knew that it was trustworthy, because it tasted like root beer or maybe Pepsi. Sage was so startled she fell off of the top bunk with a cry of pain and a loud swearword.

The two girl's got dressed again and grabbed anything they thought they might need on a mission. Sage had a switchblade that she kept in her boot, and she found a gun in the kitchen drawer. She tied her curly red hair up in a ponytail and pulled on a black messenger bag with the SHIELD logo on it in white. She had found it in the closet earlier. She shoved in a water bottle and box of matches.

Julie buttoned her white sweater all the way up to her neck, and made Sage carry a med kit in her bag, as well.

They ran out into the hallway, nearly running into Jackson and Tobias.

Jackson and Tobias were ready as well. They both wore new black jackets with SHIELD logo's on the back, and Tobias was wearing sunglasses. Don't ask me why, but he had pulled them on on the way out of his room, probably just for the heck of it.

Jackson wasn't sure if he liked Tobias.

Tobias was tall and strong, and didn't seem, to Jackson at least, to be particularly smart. At least he was trying to hide it.

Tobias wasn't sure if he like Jackson.

Jackson seemed nice enough, but that thing about being to tell when someone was lying…. it sent shivers up Tobias's spine. Nobody should be able to do that, Tobias thought. It was too much. And he could tell Jackson didn't have a very high opinion of him. But Tobias wasn't sure why. He was pretty smart. He had an IQ of 127, after all. He just didn't like to show it. If his friends back in NYC found out about that, they would probably stop talking to him. It wasn't cool to be a nerd, so Tobias had taken up boxing. He hadn't really liked it, but it made him feel more normal.

Although, Tobias reflected as he ran along a hallway underground to go on a mission with a collapsed intelligence agency being hunted for by the government, normal might just not be an option anymore.


	3. Training

**Authors note: hey hey, me again. Just popping in to remind you that I don't own any of the characters or places you may recognize from Agents of SHIELD. The only characters I own are Tobias, Jackson, Sage, and Julie.**

**To random guest: that would be funny, but I probably won't do that. It would be too much work, and I'm really really bad at writing about people that I know. So yeah.**

**Onwards and upwards, comrades!**

**~~~In the Landing Bay~~~**

"Oh good, you're here. We weren't sure if the alarm had woken you up." Ward said. As soon as Julie heard his voice, she smelled coffee brewing. The four youngest agents ran into the landing bay where the older agents were already climbing into a black plane with the SHIELD logo painted on it.

"Trust me, man. That thing would have woken us up if we were in _Norway_." Sage said grumpily. It wasn't that she wasn't excited for her first assignment as a SHIELD agent, it was just that she hated to get woken up. And even though she technically hadn't been asleep, it had still been annoying. She almost wished that she was still back in that holding cell in London.

But not really.

"Y-you really should c-consider turning down the sound on those speakers." Julie advised. "Sage fell out of her b-bunk."

"Really?" Tobias raised his eyebrows. Sage reddened.

"Guys, you can go back to bed." It was Sky, jogging towards them.

Julie tasted the blue flavor of cotton candy when Sky talked. Fruity flavors were always the best: it meant someone was trustworthy. Jackson was a fruity flavor, which meant Julie could trust him. She gave him a sideways glance.

He had shaggy dark hair to just below his ears, sharp pale features, and dark calculating eyes. In his dark jeans and jacket, he looked even more pale. That combined with his southern accent and red bandanna around his neck, he looked a little like a vampire cowboy. He caught her staring and raised an eyebrow. Julie blushed and looked away.

"Why would we go back to bed? We're coming on the mission, aren't we?" Tobias asked. His dark brown buzz-cut hair was sticking straight out in all directions like he'd stuck a fork in a light socket. He reached up subconsciously and ran a hand through his hair, making it stick up even more.

"Yeah. I didn't come all the way from Oklahoma just to get left behind. We're coming." Jackson said.

"No, you're not. We just got word from Coulson, he has a different job for you guys." Sky said. "Sorry Ward, but you're staying with them."

"No, you'll need me to help handle the 0-8-4." Ward protested.

"We don't need your help." Sky said. "May's coming, we'll be fine."

"She's telling the truth." Jackson said cheerfully. "You're stuck with us!" Ward made a half-growling half-choking sound.

"Sorry Ward. Coulson wants you to start training them. Then when we get back with the 0-8-4 in a few days, they can each get assigned an SO depending on their specific talents." Sky explained. "And they'll have to take that lying test thing to get their lanyards."

"Fine. But Tell Coulson he owes me!" Ward called as Sky hurried back towards the plane. He stomped past us towards the hallway. "Come on. Your training starts now." Ward said, and the four young agents hurried after him.

Ward hung up a couple of punching bags in one room, and had them take turns punching them as hard as they could.

Tobias, was, unsurprisingly, pretty good at this.

Julie wasn't so good at it. Finally she just gave up and started talking about theoretical physics. "I still don't understand what it _is_?" Sage asked, panting. She set her jaw and swung her fist and slammed her fist into the punching bag. It swung to one side, nearly hitting Jackson in the head. "I mean…. I know that its, like, physics or whatever, but what's so…. theoretical about it?" She punched it again, and this time Jackson had to duck to avoid it.

"Hey! No need to hit it so hard!" Jackson said. "You're gonna hit my head off!"

"Sorry." Sage shrugged. She high-kicked the punching bag and followed with a left hook. "But I like punching things."

"The a-answer to your question i-is-" Julie started to say, but she was interrupted by Tobias.

"Theoretical physics is a branch of physics that employs mathematical models and abstractions of physical objects…. to…. um…." Tobias's face was scarlet. "I mean, I, um, might've heard that once…." He ducked his head.

"How'd you know that stuff, Toby?" Sage asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I, um, read it." He mumbled, still staring at the ground. "I read a lot."

"You do?" Jackson asked. "Wow, you _do._ I underestimated you, man."

"Y-Yes." Julie stuttered. "T-thats very impressive." She sounded a little miffed that she hadn't gotten to say it, but she was also obviously impressed.

"Thanks." Tobias muttered, but he still sounded embarrassed, and the other three wondered why. Well, Sage didn't wonder. She was too busy beating up her punching bag.

"C'mon, Jules! It's your turn!" She called. Julie turned to face the punching bag.

"I'm n-not sure I can-" Julie started, but Sage put her hands on her hips.

"It's not rocket science, Jules. Make fist. Move fist quickly. Make fist hit bag." Jackson snorted. Julie was a little pink, but she did as Sage said.

She hit the bag lightly. It didn't even shake a little. "You know…. I might've slightly underestimated the difficulty of punching things." Sage said. Her face was slowly turning purple as she tried not to laugh. Behind Julie, she could hear Tobias and Jackson trying to stifle their laughs.

"Whatever." Julie muttered, trying not to blush too much.

"Sorry, Julie. Maybe you should just try a bit more force?" Tobias suggested. Julie just shrugged and took a few steps back.

"I-I'm n-not very good at this. I-I'm just going to stick with science for n-now, I think."

"That's no way to be, Jules." Sage said, jogging after her as she hurried into the hallway. "We're shouldn't have laughed. And Ward will be back soon, anyways. C'mon." Julie shook her head. "Ah, crap, I hate myself for this, but…." Sage screwed up her face like she was going to be sick. Her ears turned red. She squeezed her eyes shut like she was going to be slapped, clenched her fists, and tensed her shoulders. "I'm sorry."

"W-What?" Julie asked, turning to face her, eyes wide with surprise.

"Oh, you heard me! Don't make me say it again! Two times in one day might just kill me." Julie rolled her eyes, but she was grinning. Sage gave a sheepish smile. "Now c'mon, Ward will be back soon and we'll do something you're better at."

Ward returned ten minutes later. "So, how did it go?"

"Oh, good." Sage said nonchalantly, with a wink at Julie who gave her friend a tiny smile. "Now what are we doing, Robotron?"

"We are going to do some target practice." Ward said, pointedly ignoring the stupid nickname. "Now you'll need guns-"

"Already have one." Sage interrupted. "What do I get to shoot?"

"Where did you get-"

"Kitchen cabinet. Hope you don't mind, but its mine now." Sage twirled the gun on one finger. "But I've already mastered this thing. I'm totally a black belt."

"Have any of the rest of you ever used a gun before?" Ward asked them. Julie shook her head, but Tobias nodded.

"A g-gun?" Julie asked nervously. "I've n-never even touched one before."

"Me neither." Jackson said. "And Sage, you're going to kill someone if you keep playing with that thing."

"I've used one once or twice." Tobias said grimly. "Still not very skilled at it, though."

"That's good. Its almost better if you have no experience. Then we can keep you from developing any _bad habits_." He snatched the gun out of Sage's hand.

"Hey!"

"The other three get to use the guns. _You_, on the other hand, with your felony record, will have to pass an extensive test before you even get to touch one of these again."

"A test? What, like a 'driver safety' quiz?" Sage snorted.

"No, I mean a "test" as in, "we are going to hook you up to a lie detector and ask you a whole lot of embarrassing questions and all your friends will get to watch"." Ward said, the faintest of smiles tracing his lips.

"Oh." Sage said, her own smile slowly melting off of her face until it was a grimace. "Not as good."

"Well, if it makes you feel better, all of you have to take it." Ward said. "To get your security passes. And you have to take it to become full agents, as well."

"Wait…. we have to take the test, too? Why? _We_ aren't criminals!" Jackson protested. "Thats not fair!"

"No such thing as fair." Ward said. "Come on, we have to start your training." Ward strode off down the hallway, the four younger agents staring after him in shock.

"Oh man," Tobias rumbled. "That is going to _suck_."

**~~~Time passes~~~**

The youngest agents spent the next few days training with Ward, mentally preparing themselves for the big security/lying test, and trying to overhear things whatever they could about the older agent's mission. Ward would never tell them anything, which, needless to say, infuriated Sage. He would never even explain what an 0-8-4 was.

Then, a week after they had left, the older agents returned. They carried out of the plane a large black suitcase; they wouldn't say what it was, but it was obviously bothering them.

The morning after the older agents had returned from their mission to find the 0-8-4, Coulson returned to the base and called all the agents into his office.

"Hey, what's this about, big man?" Sage asked. "I was just getting prepped for a big morning of TV watching and couch potatoing, and I don't think I have to tell you that the universe will blow up if I don't get that done."

"My apologies for the inconvenience, Ms. Cole." Coulson said. "I just thought you and the other initiates might want to know that Ward, May, and I, have decided on who your S.O.'s are going to be."

All four of the young agents perked up immediately. "You've decided on our S.O.'s? We can become agents now?" Tobias asked.

"Yes, although you aren't going to be full agents _quite_ yet." Coulson said. "But you can begin your training to get there. Okay," He glanced at a scrap of paper. "Fitz and Simmons, you're going to take over Julie's training." They both grinned, and Julie gave them a shy smile back. "Tobias, your new S.O. is Bobby." Bobby smiled at Tobias, who grinned. "Jackson, your new S.O. is Ward. Sage, your S.O. is May."

"But-" Sage spluttered. "I don't-"

"Sorry Sage, but with your criminal record and rather sordid past, we thought the strictest possible Supervising Officer would be best for you. No offense May," Coulson added quickly. The tiniest most imperceptible smile twitched onto May's face.

"None taken." She said. "Sage, I expect you ready for training 5:30 sharp tomorrow morning." Sage made an incoherent half-spluttering half-choking noise. "If your late you get to do push-ups. And come ready for hard-core training." This time Sage sounded like a rooster with asthma.

"You're joking, right? Just joking? Very funny?" Sage asked hopefully.

"Don't be late." May said, walking out of the room.

"Well, I have other stuff I have to do, so if you all don't mind." Everyone left Coulson's office.

"Come on guys." Sky led the four youngest agents down another hallway and through another door. "It's time for you to earn your lanyards." In the room was a large black-and-stainless-steel chair, that looked, to the youngest agents at least, like a torture device. "Who wants to take the lying test first?"

Nobody raised their hands.

"I volunteer Tobias to go first!" Sage said, cracking a grin.

"Hey!"

**OK, that was chapter 3! Please, review and favorite if you like this story.**


	4. The lie detector

**Authors note: hi, this is F speaking. Here's chapter 4. If you like this story at all, please favorite/follow/leave a review. Adios amigos~**

Sage sat down nervously in the black-leather-and-stainless-steel dentist chair. There was a metal band that circled her head, tiny cameras monitoring her eyes and heat of her skin. She squeezed the armrests with both hands, taking a deep breath and trying to calm herself down. _Relax, Sage. You can do this._ Sage commanded herself mentally. _Pull it together. What's the worst that could happen?_ Another little voice in her head said, _Well, your new friends could find out who you really are. Or they could decide to kick you out._

"Shut up." I muttered.

"What was that?" Sky asked. She stood next to a control board covered with scanners and graphs and charts, monitoring Sage's heartbeat and breathing time and what looked to Sage like at least two dozen other factors.

"Wait, so all this thing does is tell when you're lying? I can do that." Jackson bragged. "Probably better than this thing, too."

"What did you say, Sage? Sorry, wasn't listening." Sky said, looking up from the control board.

"Um, nothing. We gonna do this, or what?" Sage tried to crack a grin, but it felt painfully fake. The other young agents, standing behind Sky, gave her thumbs up.

"Yep. So, I have a list of questions here that I have to ask you. We'll start with the boring ones; What is your full name?"

"Sage Jane Cole."

"Eye color?"

"Brown."

"What's the difference between an egg and a rock?" Sky asked.

Sage laughed. "Are you kidding? They're, like, total opposites!"

"Please list your immediate family." Sky said.

"Don't have any. Grew up on the streets. I can take care of myself." Sage glared at them all as if warning them not to protest. Sky looked sympathetic, but didn't say anything. Sage breathed a sigh of relief. _If the questions don't get any worse then that, I'll be fine._ Sage thought with another fake grin. "Bring on the next question."

"Imagine you're on a deserted island. On the shore is a box. What is in that box?"

"A knife." Sage said immediately. The questions went on like that for a while, until Sky asked one that made Sage want to melt into the floor and disappear.

"Why were you in jail when SHIELD agents found you?"

"I, um, shoplifted." Sage lied through gritted teeth. "Shoplifted a phone." Sky frowned down at the readings on her monitor.

"Don't worry Sage. Nobody will think any different of you, but you do have to tell the truth. Why were you in jail when SHIELD agents found you?"

"Because…." Sage's mouth tasted like lead. She wished the others would stop staring at her. "I robbed two armored cars. Pickpocketed. Did do a little shoplifting. Once I held up a convenience store. Robbery. Carjacking, once." The worse spilled out of her mouth before she could stop them. There was a heavy silence in the room. Sage kept her eyes closed. She didn't want to see their faces. She wasn't proud of her past. Not by a longshot.

"You're not lying." Jackson said after a little while. "I don't believe it."

"You r-really d-did that stuff, Sage?" Julie asked. Her eyes were wide with shock. She couldn't believe her friend would do things like that.

Sage just nodded.

"Um, okay." Sky said. "Next question. Why are you here, working with SHIELD?"

Sage shrugged, but she kept her eyes on the floor. "Didn't have anywhere else to go. No family to take me when I got out of jail, and you guys busted me out, figured you deserved my time. Didn't have anything better to do."

"Okay." Sage pressed a couple of buttons on her control board and a lanyard popped out of the side of the chair with Sage's picture on it. "Welcome to SHIELD, Sage."

The rest of their tests went more smoothly. The only really interesting things Sage learned was that:

A- Jackson's middle name was actually "Rose", something Sage found quite funny,

and B- Julie had an older brother.

When they all had their lanyards, Sky told them that they could just relax for the rest of the day. "You'll start the hard stuff tomorrow." she said. The four youngest agents of SHIELD plopped down to play videogames and watch TV. "Was that really all true? What you said in there, Sage?" Tobias asked. Sage didn't answer right away. She could tell that her friends weren't sure what to think about her right then.

"Yes. It was true. All of it. But I didn't tell the whole truth to Sky, on that last question." She quickly added. "I'm not just here because I don't have anywhere else to go. I'm here to be better. I'm an agent of SHIELD now, so…. I can help people. Make up for all of that."

What Sage didn't know what that, next to her on the couch, the other three were starting to smile.

**Ok, sorry that chapter was pretty short compared to the others, and not a whole lot happened (although we did learn more about Sage) but I promise the next chapter will have a bit more excitement. ('cause this one was kind of sappy at the end)**

**Later-**


	5. Sage gets up early

**Authors note: hey hey, sorry it's been awhile since I've updated. I've been super busy with school (three tests and two projects in one week! Argh!).**

**To random guest who asked which character's me and A are most like in this story:**

**We aren't really a lot like any of the characters in this story. We're both like a mix of Sage and Julie, except I'm a bit more Julie and A is a bit more Sage, if that makes sense which it kind of doesn't.**

**Anyways, on with the show!**

**~~~5:20 AM~~~**

Sage didn't like getting up early. In fact, it was her least favorite thing ever. But she wasn't sure she wanted to piss off her new S.O. on her first official day. She yawned and stretched, practically falling out of bed, careful not to wake up Julie snoring away on the bunk below her. Sage searched through the pile of her clothes in a shopping bag on the chair next to the bunk bed.

She and Julie had gone shopping yesterday evening. They both had only taken a couple of sets of clothes with them when they had come to this base, so Sky and Bobby had escorted them to the closest mall for an emergency shopping trip. It was the first time for as long as Sage could remember that she'd been to a mall without stealing anything. Julie didn't really like shopping, but Sage had kept her interested by trying on stupid-looking clothes and cracking corny jokes.

Sage pulled out a black t-shirt with the white silhouette of a horse mid-gallop on it. She hopped around the room pulling on army green shorts and a coral pink cord for a belt. She leaned down and fished her red-and-white sneakers out from under the bed and pulled them on. Sage found a brush and dragged it through her hair, tying it into high pigtails as she pushed the door open with her hip.

She jogged down the hall to the kitchen. "Crap. Only a few minutes for breakfast." She swore, glancing at the clock on the wall as she poured herself a bowl of cereal.

Sage sat down at the counter and started shoveling cereal into her mouth. She wasn't even halfway done with her breakfast when May came in. "Oh, good, you're here. Come on, it's time to begin your training."

"But I'm not done with breakfast!" Sage protested, but May swiped her bowl and set it in the sink.

"You're done now. If you want to be an agent you will have to work day and night. No time to relax. Do you want to be an agent, Sage?"

Sage straightened up, raising her chin defiantly. She glared into May's face, setting her jaw. "I want to be an agent. I'm _going_ to be an agent."

The tiniest smile flickered onto May's face. "Yes."

"Glad we're in agreement, then. Shall we get started?" Sage said. She followed May back into the training room, where the punching bags were still hanging from the ceiling. "This again? We did this with Ward. Can't we do gun practice?"

"You did do it, but you we'll be practicing every day until I am satisfied that you could do it in battle perfectly. We'll be doing the same with guns, fitness, survival, technology, _judo_, tactics, and even a little field medicine."

"Fun." Sage said. "But if it means I get to be an agent? I could do all that twice over."

"Thats the spirit." May nodded. "Now, lets start small. Hit it."

Sage and May trained all morning. The other new agents (Julie, Tobias, and Jackson) brought Sage pancakes around 8:00. They lounged on the ground eating pancakes, but Sage only got fifteen minutes to eat.

The other young agents had had training that morning, too, though not the same level of work as Sage.

Tobias had been working on his boxing with Bobby. She had decided that his boxing was good, and had decided that he should refine it so that he could use it in the field. They'd been sparring all morning, and Tobias was hot and sweaty, but satisfied.

Jackson had spent all morning with Ward, running interrogation simulations. With Jackson's ability to tell when someone was lying, he was also an exceptional liar himself, because he knew what all the signs of lying were. Ward had had him lying about things Ward wouldn't know either way all morning, learning to lie convincingly in stressful situations.

Julie had had the best morning she had had in a long time. Fitz and Simmons had given her a stack of computational math problems, which was her favorites. They'd lectured her in quantum phasing, theoretical physics, and even electrical engineering. Julie loved that sort of thing, so she'd had a lot of fun with it, and Fitzsimmons had had a lot of fun teaching it, too.

Tobias, Jackson, and Julie sat at the counter in the kitchen. Sage stretched out on the floor of the kitchen, her hands pressed over her eyes. She let out a long miserable groan. "I am so exhausted. I want to lay down."

"You are laying down." Tobias said, furrowing his brow. "What time did you get up again?"

"5:10." Sage moaned. "And now I'm feeling it. Jackson. Coffee. Please." Jackson handed her a mug of coffee. "Thanks, man." Then she winced. "Ow. I'm too tired to even come up with a good insult. Wait, who was I insulting? Tired."

"We c-caught on to that one." Julie laughed. "Drink your c-coffee, Sage."

"Sage? Time to get back to training." May walked into the kitchen, and saw Sage on the floor. "On second throught? Take a break." She turned and left again.

Sky came in and sat down with her computer at the kitchen counter. "So, how's your first morning of training going?" She asked.

"Good."

"A-awesome!"

"Fine."

Sage let out a painful groan. "Ow." Sky laughed. "Not funny….. I got up at 5:30. Humans should not be conscious at 5:30." Sage sat up and drank the coffee in one gulp. "Okay…. I think I can stand now. But May wants me back for more training this afternoon, and then-"

"_**ALL AGENTS, REPORT TO DIRECTOR COULSON'S OFFICE IMMEDIATELY…. ALL AGENTS, REPORT TO DIRECTOR COULSON'S OFFICE IMMEDIATELY…. ALL AGENTS, REPORT TO DIRECTOR COULSON'S OFFICE IMMEDIATELY….**_" In a split second, everyone was on their feet, running for the stairs. Bobby and Hunter joined them from the garage, Fitzsimmons, Mack, Ward, and May all ran towards the door. They burst into Coulson's office. Coulson stood behind his desk, scowling at the papers spread over his desk.

"Oh good, you're here." He said without glancing up. "We have another 0-8-4."

**Sorry that not a whole lot happened in this chapter, and sorry that it's been so long since I've updated, again. Okay, see you next time, people!**


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